Working with steam - a dirty and dangerous job

Maintenance of steam locomotives was
highly labour-intensive, requiring an army of men separated into a multitude of
grades. Top Shed at King’s Cross is described here, but other sheds would be
very similar.

After several hours working, the
intense heat in a boiler caused the solids and ash content of coal to fuse and
form thick solids called ‘clinker’ on the fire bars, preventing oxygen from
reaching the fire and thereby reducing steam pressure. Spent fuel in the form of
ash settled in the smokebox under the chimney to quite a depth, which had to be
emptied after every run – a very dirty job.

On arrival at the depot via Five
Arch, drivers reported to the office near the turntable for instructions, before
proceeding onto the turntable. After turning they continued to the coaling
plant . This had two hoppers, allowing different grades of coal to be
separated. Hard coal was generally used for main line locomotives as soft Welsh
coal was too readily pulverised, especially in such mechanical plants.

After being coaled, locomotives
moved onto the ash pits alongside the coal hopper. Fire dropping was carried
out by staff paid on a bonus system. The fire would be cleaned by withdrawal from
the firebox with a long steel shovel and thrown onto the ground. With freight
engine fireboxes typically of 28 sq. ft (2.6 m2), filled with fire
2ft (0.6m) high, this was a long, dangerous and dirty job. Wooden clogs were a
standard issue.

Before it left the ash pit area an
engine’s sandboxes were replenished with dry sand. Locomotives were then moved
into either of the two Running Sheds or onto the Back Pits. Locomotives that
needed to be ready for their next workings immediately were placed in the Back
Pits, where they were prepared and watered in the open. The Back Pits had been
built on the site of the old Midland Roundhouse and consisted of seven straight
roads. Here locomotives would be given a general check by an Examining Fitter,
who was usually equipped with a long wheel-tapping hammer.

Following any repairs arising from
the examination, the locomotive was then ready for the engine crew to prepare
it for its next working by making up the fire, trimming the coal, oiling around
the engine and watering.

Although there remains a
tremendous nostalgia for steam among those that worked with it, the final words should perhaps come from Peter
Townend, Shedmaster in the 1950s, who in his Introduction to Top Shed (1989) places his own nostalgic
regrets about steam locomotives in context:

‘.. after
spending a number of years trying to overcome some of the problems associated
with their operation, the end was inevitable. People generally were not
prepared to accept the dirt, grime and smoke associated with steam traction and
there were many unpleasant tasks which had to be carried out in primitive
conditions at depots, which few men really wanted to do.’